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PELLA — Playing baseball is suppose to be fun.
“Our kids are putting too much pressure on themselves. They are forcing things instead of just playing the game,” Newton High head coach Dustin Brisel said following a 10-0 loss in five innings to host Pella Christian on Monday.
“We’re going to keep looking at things and trying different things like giving guys opportunities to turn this around. We need to just play the game and have fun.”
Brisel is hoping Tuesday is an opportunity for the Cardinals to have fun playing baseball. The Cardinals (1-8) will play on the Iowa Cubs’ field at Principal Park in a non-conference game against Des Moines East (3-7).
The game starts at 7 p.m. in Des Moines.
“It’s a great opportunity for our kids to play on a really great field in a big ballpark,” Brisel said. “Maybe we can get that spark there to carry us to wins as we head into the final couple of weeks of the regular season.”
Newton got one hit against the Eagles’ Devin Haveman on Monday. Braydon Chance singled with two gone in the first inning. Haveman would hit a two-run home run in Pella Christian’s half of the inning to put the Eagles up 2-0.
That home run came off of Chance, who was Newton’s starting pitcher. Chance went 3 1/3 innings and allowed six runs on five hits and four walks. He struck one out.
Brody Bauer came on in relief in the six-run fourth inning. Bauer allowed four runs on four hits and one walk.
The Eagles were up 4-0 when they struck for the six runs in the fourth.
Newton is also 1-8 in Little Hawkeye Conference play. It will host Indianola in a LHC doubleheader at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Newton’s Woodland Park.
Softball
Down 4-2 after three innings, the Newton High softball team allowed the game to get away from it against host Pella Christian on Monday. The Cardinals dropped an 11-5 decision, scoring three runs in the seventh inning.
Newton is 0-8 in Little Hawkeye Conference games and 0-10 overall. The Cardinals are on the road again Tuesday with a non-conference game at Boone. The varsity game is at 7 p.m.
The PC Eagles scored three runs in the first inning. The Cardinals countered with two runs in the second frame.
Jazzlyn Cooper drew a walk and Peyton Durr went in as a pinch runner. A sacrifice bunt by Vanesa Vasseau moved Durr to second base. Kealey Manning’s base hit pushed Durr to third and Manning ended up at second.
Taylor Lust’s groundout produced a run then Kadence Ahn walked. Manning scored on an Eagle error.
The Eagles added a run in the third then had back-to-back three-run innings in the fourth and fifth. Pella Christian pushed its lead to 11-2 with a run in the sixth.
In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals capitalized on two PC errors to score three runs but it wasn’t enough. Lust led off going all the way to third on an error then Kya Butler drew a one-out walk.
Chassidy Henwood connected with an RBI single. With two gone, Malarie Zach reach on an error andtwo runs scored.
Kallie Van Kley took the pitching loss allowing 15 hits and two walks while hitting three batters and striking out one. Newton had five hits — all singles.
Hitting a single each were Henwood, Zach, Vasseau and Manning. Ahn and Hailey Catron each had a stolen base.
On Wednesday, the Cardinals step back into LHC play with a varsity doubleheader at home. The Class 5A seventh-ranked Indianola Indians come to Newton Softball Field for a 5:30 p.m. start.
Contact Jocelyn Sheets at
641-792-3121 ext. 6535
or jsheets@newtondailynews.com